The invention herein relates to carton dividers, carton inserts formed of two or more angularly related panels or partitions interconnected by complementary nesting slots to divide the interior of a carton or container into individual cells.
It is highly desirable that these formed cells be maintained open and of a uniform size both as a means for facilitating the introduction of products thereto and as a means for properly segregating and protecting the products. The prevention of the collapse of the cells, against the normal tendency of the interengaged panels to rotate to a flat condition, is particularly significant when the product packing involves the use of high-speed automatic casing machines which rely on cell uniformity. Under such circumstances, partially collapsed dividers can cause product damage, equipment jams, and other malfunctions which can require time consuming and expensive halts in operation.
This problem of maintaining cell uniformity is particularly acute when dealing with "butterfly" dividers, that is dividers composed of a single strip or partition intersected by one or more other partitions transverse thereto. Such dividers are inherently unstable and normally incapable of maintaining cell stability even when received within a confining carton.
The problems associated with collapsing "butterfly" dividers are recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,185, issued Jan. 31, 1978. As a solution, this patent provides, at the inner end of one of the slots, an enlarged tab with an elongated central opening and two specifically defined transverse fold lines for a controlled and directed collapsing and folding of the tab. The folding of the tab is effected by an introduction of the second partition through an internesting of the slots. The provision of and position of the score lines is of particular significance to insure the proper folding of the tab to only one side of the partition from which the tab is formed. While such scores or score lines are essential for a proper operation of the patent construction, in dry finish boards of the type used in most carton partitions, the moisture content is normally not accurate enough to provide a proper scoring as would be needed for the desired unguided folding of the tab. Further, conventional partition equipment does not incorporate the means or pressure for providing score lines as proposed in the patented device.